CHICO — Last weekend the stage at Chico Theater Company”s ETC theater presented “Guys and Dolls, Jr.” with young people playing adults in the 1950s Broadway hit.

Granted, the junior version omitted some scenes, but the show was a quick-moving and fully entertaining musical. It runs through Saturday. Dec. 18.

The well-known show by Frank Loesser is based on a Damon Runyon story, with book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swirling. The CTC-ETC version was directed and choreographed by Joey Mahoney, assisted by Wendy Boswell, with musical direction by Carol Lane. The large 24-member cast ranges in age from 13 to 15.

The “Guys and Dolls” story opens on a street in New York City with gamblers Nicely-Nicely, Benny and Rusty Charlie (Alexandra Anderson, R.J. Sites and Kasey Perkins) singing a gambling song.

They are joined by Nathan Detroit (Nolan Kenny), a gambler looking for a place to hold a craps game. Nathan and Miss Adelaide (Melanie Andrews), a nightclub singer and dancer, have been engaged for 14 years. She wants to marry and he is dragging his feet.

Nathan is constantly searching for new places to hold craps games because Lt. Brannigan (Dalton Hart) keeps trying to break up the gambling racket.

A second love story concerns Sky Masterson (Brad Bailey), an even bigger gambler, and Sarah Browne (Kaila Davidson), a worker at “Save a Soul Mission.”

Nathan maneuvers Sky into betting he can get a date with any girl Nathan selects. Nathan picks Sarah Browne, and Sky knows the odds are against him. When he learns the mission is in danger of closing, he offers to bring her “one dozen genuine sinners” if she will have dinner with him in Havana.

Sarah agrees, and during the dinner she and Sky fall in love and they sing, “I”ve Never Been in Love Before.”

It all falls apart when she learns Sky dated her to win a bet, and Nathan”s craps game is in full swing in an underground sewer.

Sky arrives and sings one fo the show”s outstanding numbers, “Luck Be a Lady.” He bets every man $1,000, and they pledge to attend the Mission meeting if they lose. Sky wins, and the unhappy losers groan their way to the Mission.

The final scene brings both love stories to a happy conclusion. Sky not only marries Sarah, but joins the Mission workers, and Nathan and Miss Adelaide take wedding vows.

“Guys and Dolls, Jr.” is an ambitious production for such young people. Yet, they portrayed their adult roles well with a stage presence beyond their years. Dressed in business suits and fedoras, sporting painted-on mustaches and beards, it was hard to tell girls from boys. Anderson as Nicely-Nicely, the smallest gambler, drew a lot of laughs singing, “Sit Down, You”re Rocking the Boat.”

In their lead roles, Davidson as Sarah Browne, Bailey as Sky Masterson, Kenny as Nathan Detroit and Andrews as Miss Adelaide, portrayed their characters so well one could overlook their size and youth.

CTC-ETC (Enriching the Children) Theatre provides great opportunities for young actors to experience the thrill of theater. We will no doubt be seeing more of them in other shows as they grow into the art.